First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choi Jong-gun said on the 9th (local time) that Korea and China are very close economically, but the ROK-US alliance is the basis of Korea's diplomacy and security.



At the invitation of Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Vegan, who also served as the US Special Representative to North Korea, Vice Minister Choi, who visited the United States on the same day, met with correspondents at Dulles International Airport near Washington DC and said this.



Vice Minister Choi said, "I don't know what it means to attract us. I don't know what it means to attract us, but the US and the United States are allied." "The basis of security" he answered.



However, he added, "We are an alliance of the United States, and at the same time we are close to China and very close economically."



He also said, "If we can hear more about what kind of vision and roadmap (US) has and share our opinions, we will do it," he said. "It is to communicate that way with alliances, and it is a bit different from the media's expression of'focus on one side' I think it's different."



When asked,'Do you mean equidistant diplomacy with the United States and China?', Vice Minister Choi stressed that "it is not equidistant" and "because alliance is the basis."



Regarding the purpose of this visit, Vice Minister Choi said, "Because the situation of the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) is severe, there are many issues to be taken care of between the ROK and the United States," and "There are issues such as health and quarantine, quarantine cooperation and cooperation, and communication between the two countries." Said.



He said, "When it comes to communication problems, there are talks about the pending issues, but in reality, people come and go, the problems of convenience, and the business that the Trump administration and the Moon Jae-in administration have been doing for three years have been overhauled once again. I think I will tell you a lot more about how we can reactivate the alliance in the future.”



Deputy Minister Choi, who was promoted from the Blue House Peace Planning Secretary to the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs last month, is scheduled to discuss issues between the United States and South Korea through this first visit to the United States, which is also a mutual visit after talking to the counterpart, Vegon, on the phone on the 2nd.



(Yonhap News/Photo = Yonhap News)